She said it with a smile,
as if every word was harmless,
a bird she released into the air.
Criticism disguised as kindness,
a velvet hammer to the chest.
\"You should clip your nose hairs.\"
The sentence hung heavily,
a cobweb dangling in sunlight.
My fingers impulsively grazed my nose,
searching for a betrayal, unseen but told.
I hadn\'t expected the ambush,
no verbal armor pre-prepared,
no reply that didn\'t taste bitter.
I laughed, because people do that
to fill the space of their unease.
What is it about being noticed
in the wrong way, that burns?
I trace my image for imperfections,
wondering what else I’ve missed.
Is my body a map of fault lines?
Still, here is the complicated kindness:
That someone looked close enough
to bother mentioning the smallest thing.
Not cruelty, but maybe sincerity,
and maybe that’s the part that stings.